Connecticut runs a tightly limited online casino market with just two licensed sites, DraftKings and FanDuel. Here is what the law actually allows.
Gov. Ned Lamont signs Public Act 21-23 (HB 6451), authorizing online casinos, online sports betting, fantasy contests, online keno, and the online lottery.
DraftKings, FanDuel, and SugarHouse launch at 6:00 a.m. ET. Online casino is limited to DraftKings (Foxwoods) and FanDuel (Mohegan Sun) by statute.
The Connecticut Lottery Corporation begins online ticket sales for draw games and keno through its app and website, three years after the 2021 law authorized it.
Virtual Gaming Worlds shuts down Chumba, LuckyLand, and Global Poker in Connecticut, eight months after a Department of Consumer Protection cease-and-desist letter.
Public Act 25-112 (SB 1235) makes running or promoting an online sweepstakes casino in Connecticut a criminal offense. The state was the second to enact such a ban after Montana.
Monthly real-money online casino win reported by the state regulator. Latest April 2026: $57.8M.
Six other states regulate real-money online casinos. None of them run a market this small. Connecticut sits one step above Rhode Island, where a single Bally's contract covers the whole state, and well below every other legal jurisdiction. The cap is not a market outcome. It is written into Public Act 21-23.
| State | Operators | Licensing model | Live since |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 30+ | Skins under nine Atlantic City casino permits | Nov 2013 |
| Pennsylvania | 22 | Skins under land-based casino licenses | Jul 2019 |
| Michigan | 15 | Three Detroit casinos plus 12 tribes | Jan 2021 |
| West Virginia | 5 | Skins anchored to the five commercial casinos | Jul 2020 |
| Delaware | 3 | Racino skins under one state-lottery platform | Nov 2013 |
| Connecticut | 2 | Master wagering licenses to two tribes | Oct 2021 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | Bally's 20-year exclusive contract | Mar 2024 |
Operator counts as of May 2026. Skins are counted as separate consumer brands even when they share a back-end platform. New Jersey's figure includes every brand running under an Atlantic City master permit.
By statute the licensed Connecticut market is DraftKings (Foxwoods) and FanDuel (Mohegan Sun). Other casinos shown here are reviewed by our team but not licensed in CT.
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Connecticut legalized online casino gaming on May 27, 2021, when Gov. Ned Lamont signed Public Act 21-23 (House Bill 6451). The law issued one master wagering license to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and one to the Mohegan Tribe, with each tribe allowed a single online casino skin. Licensed sites went live on October 19, 2021, with DraftKings running the Foxwoods platform and FanDuel running the Mohegan Sun platform. The Department of Consumer Protection's Gaming Division licenses operators and audits the market.
Online casino revenue is taxed at 18 percent for the first five years and steps up to 20 percent in late 2026, on the five-year anniversary of launch. Online poker is authorized under the same 2021 law but no site has gone live, because the statute does not allow shared player pools and a 2025 bill to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association died in committee. Sweepstakes casinos became illegal on October 1, 2025, when Public Act 25-112 took effect. Connecticut was the second state to ban the sweepstakes model, after Montana.
Connecticut has no commercial casinos. Foxwoods belongs to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Mohegan Sun belongs to the Mohegan Tribe. A 1990s gaming compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act gave the two tribes slot-machine exclusivity in exchange for a 25 percent cut of slot win to the state general fund. That arrangement has produced more than $8 billion in payments since 1993. The 2021 iGaming law did not break the compact. It extended it.
The slot revenue-share payments stop only if Connecticut legalizes commercial slot machines or casino games outside the compact. That clause is the reason every gambling expansion in the state, including the 2021 online casino law, has to be negotiated with both tribes before a single bill moves.
Public Act 21-23 issued one master wagering license to each tribe. Each master license carries exactly one online casino skin and one online sportsbook skin. The Mashantucket Pequot picked DraftKings as the casino platform. The Mohegan Tribe picked FanDuel. Federal approval of the amended compacts came through in September 2021.
Connecticut wrote the rate change into the same law that legalized iGaming. Online casino gross gaming revenue is taxed at 18 percent for five years, then 20 percent for the rest of the compact term. The trigger lands on the fifth anniversary of launch, October 2026. No new vote, no operator notice, no committee hearing. The scheduled jump is automatic.
| State | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 54% slots, 16% tables | Highest iGaming rate in the country. |
| Michigan | 20% to 28% tiered | Top brands pay the full 28 percent. |
| New Jersey | 19.75% flat | Hiked from 15 percent on July 1, 2025. |
| Connecticut | 18%, then 20% | Steps up in October 2026. |
| Rhode Island | 15.5% flat | Lowest rate of any legal iGaming state. |
Beyond the two online casinos, Connecticut regulates several other forms of gambling.
Three mobile sportsbooks operate statewide: DraftKings through Foxwoods, FanDuel through Mohegan Sun, and Fanatics through the Connecticut Lottery (replacing SugarHouse in December 2023). Sports betting revenue is taxed at 13.75 percent, and the minimum age is 21.
Connecticut has no commercial casinos. The two land-based properties belong to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe, the same tribes that hold the master wagering licenses for everything online.
The Connecticut Lottery sells draw game tickets and keno online through its app and website. Scratchers and instant e-games are not part of the iLottery. The minimum age is 18.
Nonprofits can run bingo, raffles, sealed tickets, and bazaars under DCP licensing. There are no licensed online versions of these games.
The Senate vote was unanimous. So was the House. Public Act 25-112 shut the door on online sweepstakes casinos in Connecticut, eight months after one operator quietly exited the state and less than two weeks after another paid a $1.5 million settlement to walk away from criminal charges. The trail of enforcement built the political cover for a ban that drew zero opposition in either chamber.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection sends a public letter to Virtual Gaming Worlds, calling Chumba, LuckyLand, and Global Poker unlicensed online gambling.
Eight months after the DCP letter, Virtual Gaming Worlds pulls all three of its sweepstakes brands out of the state without admitting fault.
The Gaming Division pulls High 5 Games’ service provider license and considers 1,065 criminal counts of running illegal gambling. Customers had deposited $3.1 million over 25 months.
Gov. Greg Gianforte signs SB 555. The Montana statute makes operating a sweepstakes casino a felony with $50,000 fines per violation, effective October 1.
High 5 pays $643,000 in consumer restitution plus roughly $800,000 to consumer-protection programs. Criminal charges are dropped. The settlement clears the path for the ban bill.
The Senate votes 36-0. The House follows 140-0. Bipartisan unanimity in both chambers, the first time a Connecticut gambling bill cleared without a single no vote.
Connecticut becomes the second state in the country to enact a sweepstakes ban. Grocery-store promotional games tied to retail purchases survive as a narrow exception.
Operating or promoting an online sweepstakes casino in Connecticut becomes a Class A misdemeanor under the state’s professional gambling statute, and a public nuisance subject to seizure.
Only Montana banned sweepstakes earlier, and only by 19 weeks. New York's Senate passed a similar measure 57-2 in 2025; the bill is still in the Assembly. Louisiana's ban was vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry.
The 2021 law authorized online peer-to-peer poker alongside slots and table games. Five years later no operator has launched. The statute does not permit shared player pools, and the bill that would have changed that, SB 1464, died in chamber on April 8, 2025, despite public support from DraftKings, FanDuel, and both tribes. Mohegan Digital told the legislature MSIGA membership would add $1 million to $3 million a year. The committee did not move the bill.
At 3.6 million residents, an in-state-only pool would average a few hundred concurrent players at peak hours. That is not enough to seat a full mid-stakes cash game, never mind run a guaranteed tournament. Every operator who testified at the March 12, 2025 public hearing said the same thing in different words.
Six states share liquidity today: Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's entry in April 2025 pushed the combined pool past 40 million residents. Connecticut joining would route DraftKings and FanDuel poker tables into that network. Until the legislature returns to it, the slot stays empty.
Yes. Public Act 21-23 legalized them in 2021, and the market went live on October 19, 2021. By statute only two online casinos can operate in the state: DraftKings through Foxwoods and FanDuel through Mohegan Sun. Both are regulated by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.
You must be at least 21 and physically located inside Connecticut when you place a wager. Geolocation software checks your location every time you play.
No. Residency is not required. The rule is physical presence inside the state, confirmed by geolocation when you log in.
Online poker is authorized in the 2021 law but no operator has launched. The statute does not allow shared player pools, and a 2025 bill to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association did not pass. Without shared liquidity, Connecticut's player pool is too small to support a real-money poker site.
No. Public Act 25-112 banned them effective October 1, 2025. Operating or promoting a sweepstakes casino in Connecticut is now a criminal offense. VGW (Chumba, LuckyLand, Global Poker) already exited the state in October 2024 after a DCP cease-and-desist.
Online casino gross gaming revenue is taxed at 18 percent for the first five years after launch, then 20 percent. The rate steps up in late October 2026.
